Drunk UK mum jailed for reckless driving with son in car

A mum in the UK has been sentenced to more than six months jail for drink driving after launching her car metres into the air while attempting to overtake a truck at a roundabout.

Tania Chikwature, 32, was driving her car on the A605 in Peterborough with her 19-month-old-son in the back on the morning of December 12 when she made the fateful decision to overtake.

Chikwature’s car was picked up by the dash cam of another driver as it sped down the wrong side of a solid white lines and spectacularly shot four metres into the air.

“The car was completely out of control and went straight on where it launched into the air,” the truck driver, who phoned emergency services, told police.

“I remember thinking as it went in the air they’re not going to make it. I thought I was witnessing a fatal road accident”.

Photo of the wreck. (Cambridgeshire Police)

Chikwature’s car was found on its roof on the other side of the roundabout. It had struck a crash barrier and had finally come to a stop some 50 metres up the round.

Passing motorists who had pulled over rushed to Chikwature’s car to find her young son hanging upside down in his car seat. Both he and Chikwature were pulled alive from the wreckage.

Despite refusing to partake in a routine breath test, a blood sample was taken hours later at hospital showing she had 246 milligrams of alcohol in her blood at the time of the accident. The recording put her three times above the legal limit.

Chikwature was charged with dangerous driving and driving while under the influence. At a hearing last month, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison. She was also ordered to pay $150.